Search Results for: supper club

Our supper club is one of the highlights of our social life. Each couple that hosts goes all out! Every month we rotate hosts. They are in charge of the theme/entree and the others bring a side, dessert, and cocktails. We were the hosts for July. The theme was Provencal Summer’s Eve. I wanted to do something summery but not quite a BBQ. Hence this theme!

I started with a charcuterie board because I’ll use any excuse to eat cheese! I went to Whole Foods for this particular selection. They are just so darn excited about describing cheese that I had to go with them! The guy behind the counter picked the most delicious assortment of french cheeses that I paired with some meat, crackers, and fresh figs. This was a crowd pleasure for sure!

For the table-scape I picked a few french things to adorn the table. French Peonies were a must! I put out a few bottles of Perrier and a baguette with a Provencal Herbed Butter (softened butter mixed with thyme, lemon zest, salt, pepper, chives). The name tags were held in place with a Fleur de Sel Caramel.

The entree was Filet of Beef au Poivre with a side of hericot vert (french green beans), provencal orzo, and a delicious St. Germain cocktail to wash it down!

Of course, after supper, we made our way onto the screened porch where the men smoked cigars (I complained that I couldn’t breathe) and we played Cards Against Humanity.

We had SO much fun! We laughed hard, stayed up late, and enjoyed hilarious conversation with close friends. This group is so comfortable with each other that no matter what we do, it’s a blast! Can’t wait to do it again next month!

Share This:

Every month, our group of 8 friends get together for supper club. We rotate the host. Each host is in charge of picking the theme and entree. The other couples are in charge of a drink, side dish or appetizer, and dessert that go with the theme. This month we were the hosts. I chose a Citrus theme because it’s starting to get warm, and I love citrus!

My main course was lemon braised chicken. Here is the original recipe. My update recipe is below. This was for 8 people, so you could definitely cut it in half for a family sized meal.

Along with the chicken, I made lemon poppy seed biscuits (basic buttermilk biscuits but omitted cheese and added zest of 1 lemon and 1 tsp of poppy seeds) and an arugula salad with orange slices, slivered almonds, craisins, and a raspberry vinaigrette. Annie made Smokey Sausage cups with puffed pastry filled with orange marmalade and kielbasa topped with gouda cheese and more orange marmalade (they’re in the back corner of the plated meal).

Kirsten made the cocktail which was grapefruit vodka and seltzer. She garnished with fresh grapefruit slices and gummi rings. For us pregos, we had seltzer with grapefruit juice. It was equally delicious!

And last, but definitely not least, Missy made lemon bars topped with a lemon slice. They were so delicious and a perfect way to end our citrus supper!

Add chicken to pan in batches, skin side down, and sear on both sides until golden brown (2-3 min per side) Drain excess fat in pan as needed.

Place seared chicken on a plate to brown remaining chicken.

Remove all chicken from pan. Lower heat if needed.

Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pour in chicken stock and lemon juice, using a wooden spoon to scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan as your pour.

Bring stock to a boil and reduce to simmer.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Pour into chicken stock and whisk until smooth. Let simmer and thicken for about 5 minutes.

Place chicken back into the pan and cover with lid.

Cook in the oven for an hour.

Remove pan from the oven. Serve warm with gravy and fresh chopped parsley.

Notes

This can be prepared ahead. You can brown the chicken and set aside. While the pan is still hot, stir in garlic and deglaze with the chicken broth and lemon juice. Add in corn starch mixture and simmer to thicken. Set that aside until ready to braise. An hour before dinner, bring broth to a simmer, place the chicken in the pot and cover with lid. Place in oven for an hour and serve warm.

Share This:

We have had yet another successful supper club! This month Annie and Jeremy hosted. They picked Mexican Fiesta as our theme. It was fitting, considering it was Cinco de Mayo a few weeks ago!

Annie set the table beautifully! She is so crafty. She had a white table cloth with ribbons going across the center. She had big colorful vases in the center with bright flowers to match the ribbons. The CUTEST part was our M&M stuffed chili pepper name tags. She even had a festive chalkboard with an adorable paper wreath hanging from it.

The food was absolutely delicious! Kirsten was in charge of appetizers. She made spicy cream cheese stuffed phyllo cups with a sweet chili dipping sauce. Missy was on drinks. She definitely didn’t disappoint. The men had Modelo beer, while the ladies had Pomegranate Margaritas. Needless to say, we enjoyed our drinks thoroughly!
Annie was in charge of the main course. We started with a 7 layer mexican salad with a variety of dressings to choose from (our favorite being the creamy mexican). Then we moved on to pulled pork tacos with a variety of toppings and jalapeno cilantro cream sauce.

Last, but not least, was dessert! I made a Sopapilla Cheesecake (recipe below). Completely unhealthy (let’s just say the recipe is from Pillsbury) and not something I would normally make, but it was DELICIOUS!

We had an amazing night! There’s nothing like a night of good food, great friends, and strong drinks! Viva la fiesta!

Share This:

We have our supper club once a month. Stew and I always look forward to it. Four couples together to eat and just hang out! We all love to decorate and entertain, so it’s always a great time! This month, Stew and I hosted. The theme was Silver and Gold. I wanted it to be cozy, yet have all the sparkle of the season! I found a sheer gold sequins fabric at JoAnn Fabrics, which was perfect (and cheap) to lay on top of my white table cloth. For my place mats, I used silver & gold glitter scrapbook paper!! It was nice and thick, so it worked perfectly. I used silver glitter painted pinecones and tied everyone’s names to them with silver string. I used a silver metallic sharpie to write their names. And, of course, white candles and baby’s breath to brighten it up. Here is my table-scape.

Then, the most important part of the night, THE FOOD! For the main course, I chose a standing rib roast (recipe below). I came across this delicious recipe in Southern Living Magazine. Here is the original recipe. I made a few changes and it came out absolutely delicious!

In addition to the roast, I made buttermilk biscuits and roasted brussels sprouts. Annie brought a cheese platter as an appetizer, Kirsten brought a spiked hot cider (vanilla vodka to spike it) and Missy brought homemade chocolate truffles. It was a feast fit for a king! The perfect holiday meal spent with great friends.

2. Preheat oven to 450°. Whisk together mustard and next 3 ingredients; reserve 1 Tbsp. mixture. Rub remaining mixture over roast; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place roast on a lightly greased rack in a roasting pan.

Note from Southern Living:
Ask your butcher: Have the chine bone removed. A thin bone that runs perpendicular to the rib bones, it will get in the way of slicing once the meat is roasted and has rested.

Roast like a pro: Start roasting at 450° for 45 minutes to form the caramelized crust. Then reduce the temperature and finish cooking to keep the inside pink and juicy.

The right temp: 125° for prime rib lovers. Remember: The internal temp on large roasts like this will continue to rise as the roast rests.

Share This:

We have a group of four couples that get together once a month for Supper Club. We have been getting together for almost two years, come hell or high water! Each month, we meet at the “host couple’s” house. They pick the theme and the entree. The other couples are responsible for drinks, a side dish, and dessert.

This month was at our house. Our theme was Tapas & Sangria. This was our post-cinco-de-mayo festival. John & Kirsten, who sadly couldn’t come due to a sick bambino, dropped off drinks (Sangria & Mexican Beer), Missy and Jody brought dessert (Guava & Cream Cheese Empanadas) and Annie and Jeremy brought the side dish (Mini Salads in Parmesan Cups) Stew and I thought Tapas would be easy, but they turned out to be A LOT of work. It was definitely worth it! Lots of pictures coming up…

Share This:

This was a weekend of major food prep! This is a “chemo week“, so I like to get as much done in advance as possible. We have Supper Club (Standing Rib Roast Recipe to come!) tonight, so yesterday was the big “prep day”.

The first few chemo treatments, Stew was sick for a solid 4 days, so I didn’t worry too much about food. It was mainly chicken soup and saltines all week. But since he started his acupuncture and chinese herbs, he is a hungry beast (yay)! Now I actually have to plan meals for the week! On top of that, Turner is eating me out of house and home! This kid could eat NON-STOP!!!
Needless to say, I have to have healthy snacks on hand for him AND Stew (and me, of course)! So This was what I made yesterday:

Heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet (I used cast iron) over medium heat. Cook potatoes and sausage according to package instructions (basically until softened and browned). Slice sausage into bite size pieces and return to pan. Whisk eggs, salt, and pepper up in a bowl. Add eggs, salsa, goat cheese, and cheddar to the pan. Let eggs set for about 1 minute. Use a rubber spatula to move eggs around the pan, about every minute, until they are cooked through.

Divide egg mixture into 5 even sections. Lay out one square of foil and lay tortilla on top. Spoon one section of filling onto the tortilla. Top with extra salsa and shredded cheese. Tuck the sides in and roll up (seam side down). Roll the foil up around it. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Place tortillas in a large ziplock bag and freeze.

To re-heat in the morning: Remove foil, wrap burrito in paper towel, microwave, using the quick defrost button, for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Time and setting will vary depending on your microwave! If you have more time, you can always keep the burrito in foil and warm in the oven.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Share This:

We started hosting Thanksgiving in 2011. We LOVE entertaining. We go all out. Just ask the people in our Supper Club! Last Thanksgiving, I was planning on hosting, but Turner decided to show up almost two weeks early! He was only 5 days old last Thanksgiving. So we went to my mom’s instead. My, how life has changed in a year!

This year, we’re back in action! Here is my game plan! Having a timeline makes it completely stress-free! I just do a little bit each day.

I do a lot in advance. That way, all I do Thanksgiving morning is bake the turkey! We always have different veggies each year, but we have the staples too! We ALWAYS start with Nanny’s Italian Wedding Soup. Sorry, I’d share that recipe, but you know how that ends…

I use something similar to this recipe for the Turkey. I make a few changes and sort of do a combination of recipes. But that’s the basic idea! I make the herb butter in advance and just take it out the night before so it’s nice and spreadable by Thanksgiving morning. I use this Food Network Digital Thermometer for the turkey too. This is a MUST! It ensures that the turkey isn’t overcooked and dry! And, if you order it withAmazon Prime , it will be here in time for the big day!

I also make buttermilk biscuits (minus the cheese), cranberry relish, Harvest Pie (I use store bought dough and omit the nuts), and cornbread pudding. Considering we will have 19 people, I’m also having everyone bring a dish too! We’ll have a sweet potato dish, broccoli rabe, mashed potatoes, green beans, and few others!

Today is cleaning, laundry, set the table, and decorate the house day. Typically, we decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving. BUT, in my defense, Thanksgiving is a week later this year!! That means we would have less time to enjoy the Christmas decorations! So pump up the Nat King Cole, and let the fun begin!! Happy Thanksgiving prep week!!

Share This:

It hit me today, as I perused Pinterest, that I’m not the ONLY person getting excited for fall!! There are so many pins for fall meals and decorating scattered throughout the pages. Although it’s still hot and humid here in Charleston, the mornings are cooling off a bit. Turner and I are actually able to sit on the front porch in the mornings without breaking a sweat!

Fall is my favorite time of year. The food is comforting, the bugs start to retreat, and I can pull out all of my boots! Fall also means more crock pot meals. As you know, Stew and I plan our menu on the weekend and do all of our grocery shopping for the week. This makes preparing dinner way less stressful. Stew usually gets home by 6 on week nights, and I have dinner ready so we can eat, go for our walk, and get Turner in the bath by 7. Lately, I’ve been finding that I’m just not in the mood to cook once 5:00 roles around. So, this week, I’m planning things that I can just throw in the crock pot or prep ahead so I don’t have to do much each night. I’ve had a few requests to share my menu and grocery list, so here we go!

**NOTE: I cut the recipes down if they’re for a large group! Also, some items I already have, so I don’t add them to my grocery list.

Baby Food: I make two big batches of veggies and fruit for Turner’s lunch and dinner for the week. In addition to his pureed food, I give him finger foods like local cheddar cheese with his yogurt in the afternoon, whole grain waffles with his oatmeal for breakfast, and even some bites of grilled cheese. This is what his week will look like.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with apples and cinnamon. I peel and cut up an apple into tiny pieces and boil it for the last few minutes. Then, I stir in some cinnamon.Lunch: Grilled Cheese bites with Eggplant, Pear, & Plum Puree.Snack: Local Greek Yogurt (sold at Whole Foods)Dinner: Pureed butternut squash with apple and cinnamon (peeled, cut up, steamed, and blended).

Share This:

I absolutely adore our supper club. Not only is it a chance to talk to people who don’t speak Baby, but it’s also a time to be as festive as possible and eat GREAT food! We have such a blast every time we get together. Our July supper was hosted by Missy and Jody. They took us out on their boat for our 2nd Annual Boating Extravaganza Supper Club! Unfortunately, John and Kirsten couldn’t make it! So it was just three couples. They were definitely missed!

Jody was in charge of driving, and the rest of us were in charge of drinking. Annie and Jeremy brought the drinks, and they were DELICIOUS! Margaritas, beer, lemonade…what else do we need??
The weather was absolutely gorgeous! It had been raining on and off all day, but once we got on the boat, there wasn’t a storm cloud to be seen! We rode around for quite a while. Here is a shot of the Ravenel Bridge as we approached. It was awesome seeing it from this angle.
After at least an hour (I lost track of the time), we headed to Morris Island to set up our picnic. Missy and Jody brought the main course: chicken salad sandwiches, caprese sandwiches, coastal deli sandwiches, and an arugula, watermelon, and bleu cheese salad…YUM. It was a light and refreshing meal to pair perfectly with our sunny beach picnic!
I was in charge of dessert. I wanted to make something that would travel well but would still go with a beachy theme. So I found a recipe for S’mores bites that was perfect!
All in all, it was a great time! We drank, ate, and laughed A LOT. We took “honeymoon shots” and met strangers that made an impression that will last a lifetime, I’m sure.

Here’s one of many honeymoon shots that were taken that night…
And here is a picture of Missy, Jody, Annie, and me (Stew and Jeremy were….swimming).
This supper club was one for the books. It was a perfect break from reality! No phone-calls, no babies, no work…just friends!

Share This:

The weather has been terrible lately! I don’t even remember what the sun looks like! That is rare in SC! The only good thing about it is that we were forced to just relax this weekend! Stew, Turner, and I spent Saturday afternoon sitting in a coffee shop, which was so fun! The rest of our time was spent at home playing, cleaning, and doing laundry (a few of my favorite things).

Speaking of playing, Turner has just turned into a big boy right before our eyes! We keep thinking he’s this little baby who can’t do anything! It’s hard to believe that he’s sitting up in his Boppy Pillow and is actually capable of playing with “6mo+” toys!! Here are some shots of him.

Next weekend, we’re hosting our supper club (Tapas & Sangria theme), so we ventured out to Hobby Lobby and Michaels on Sunday. While we were there, I found blank onesies and iron-on letters! This reminded me that I’ve been wanting to make a onesie for Turner! So we picked up the goodies, and I made this when I got home!
Turner obviously loved it because he loves his veggies! A boy after his momma’s heart :o)

Overall, it was a pretty uneventful weekend. We still had fun though! Rain can’t hold us back!